Wolves' 'unlikely lads' are on the march

"I'm not going out for drinks today!" said Fer Lopez to the suggestion that after scoring the winner in a Black Country derby, he would never have to take his wallet out at the bar in Wolverhampton ever again.

As he left after the interview, I assured him that if he returned to Molineux decades from now, people would talk to him about that goal. He will find out one day.

Such are the lasting emotions of a derby, a match which marked an end to a bad summer for hot takes in Wolverhampton.

At the end of May, it appeared that Wolves were going to back Rob Edwards and make a radical overhaul by sweeping away most of last season's squad, knowing they would fail in the Championship otherwise.

Well, taking those three ideas in order: they didn't; they didn't, at least not fully; but, so far, they haven't. Wolves' summer did not follow the course they indicated, or that many outside expected.

The Championship is a confusing enough place anyway, but Wolves' slaloming course through the early fixtures has made their prospects quite hard to read.

One of the most engaging calls on the Radio WM Football Phone-In so far this season came just after the transfer window, from a Wolves fan who tore into the club's approach: they hadn't spent enough, they had sold players they should have kept, and kept players they should have jettisoned at any price, the manager was unproven – all told, a rolling nightmare.

"Where will you finish?" asked my colleague Daz Hale. "Oh, second - we'll go up." Righto.

Yet now, just a few weeks later, after the smooth deconstruction of their neighbours last time out, he may be proved right.

A clear style under Cesar Peixoto, apparent from early on, is now working more efficiently than in the wild early games at West Ham and Birmingham.

But some of the assumed key players in the squad have played only small parts so far: Raul Jimenez missed the derby with his leg in a brace and Kieran Trippier – while excellent – has started only twice in the league.

Instead, Lopez has been the key creator with the tireless Marshall Munetsi, previously unappreciated by many fans, the regular starter alongside him.

Nasser Djiga, who, like Lopez, struggled last season before being loaned out, looks an automatic choice on recent form. Toti was steadfast alongside him against Albion.

Wolves are making progress with a team largely made up of players that fans thought a few months ago would or should be gone by now. How the world turns. The unlikely lads are on the march.

BBC Radio WM Football Phone-In is weeknights 18:00-19:00 BST